BJP workers-police clash in Tripura, several injured

Agartala, Oct 16 (IANS) BJP workers on Saturday clashed with police as they tried to gherao the Chief Minister’s official residence here to protest the damage to the party state unit’s president’s vehicle the previous night, police said.

Three BJP workers and four police personnel, including a woman constable, received injuries in the incident.

“The clash took place when police tried to disperse the BJP supporters, who were trying to lay siege to the CM’s residence,” a police official said.

Earlier, according to him, around 150 BJP workers, led by party leaders Jawahar Saha and Subal Bhowmik, brought out a protest rally in the city and then tried to gherao the official residence of Chief Minister Manik Sarkar.

The police official said that late Friday night a truck carrying the members of a local club hit the vehicle of state BJP President Biplab Deb. The vehicle was parked in front of Deb’s house.

When the driver of the vehicle protested the incident, the club members got into an altercation with him during which the bodyguard of the BJP chief fired one round from his service revolver.

Deb, who was inside his house during the incident, told the media and police that the club members are supporters of the ruling CPI-M and they tried to attack him.

Condemning the incident, Trinamool Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman demanded more security for the BJP’s state party chief.

Terming the incident as “bogus”, CPI-M state Secretary Bijan Dhar said that the incident took place when local club members were returning in a truck after the immersion of the Goddess Durga idol.

“How the CPI-M supporters came in the scene? The BJP is making a trivial road mishap a major issue to get political mileage, as they and other opposition parties have no issue against the Left Front,” Dhar, a CPI-M central committee member, told reporters.